


Endings and beginnings

by Butterybrieftyphoon



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27152900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterybrieftyphoon/pseuds/Butterybrieftyphoon
Summary: Bokutou Kotarou didn’t like to lose.His teammates didn’t like it too, but they couldn’t keep up with him.A year had passed since he had joined Fukurodani’s volleyball club when a ray of hope for him arrived.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Kudos: 20





	1. The beginning

Bokuto Kotarou didn’t like to lose.

His teammates didn’t like it too, but they couldn’t keep up with him.

A year had passed since he had joined Fukurodani’s volleyball club when a ray of hope for him arrived.

* * *

He wasn’t _special_. But, again, why would he be?

Bokuto watched as the black-haired boy delivered his tosses with high precision and grace, arching his back to deliver the ball to the right side of the court with mechanical accuracy, but carefully trying not to stand out too much. Why? He didn’t know, but he was going to make him shine bright.

The owl haired boy didn’t hesitate as he jumped from the sidelines onto the court to spike the toss. He could still fill the stinger on his right palm when his newfound friend (were they friends? He wasn’t quite sure… was spiking a ball a good conversation starter?) turned around to look at him, just as Bokuto asked for the next toss, excitement drawn on his face.

They were only going to practice spikes “for a little bit”, in Bokuto’s words. The owl head didn’t look like he was feeling too well (he was, indeed, hiding under a table looking quite depressed), so Keiji had agreed, but now he was starting to regret it. But time always slips through your fingers when you have fun.

“Your tosses are the best, Akashi-kun!!” Bokuto blurted out.

“It’s Akaashi”, said boy corrected him for the tenth (or maybe twentieth) time.

Well, at least one thing was certain: the team captain sure knew how to motivate people and raise their spirits, so it was nice for a change.

Keiji had always been the one in charge of his middle school volleyball team. Calm, composed, responsible, his teammates always counted on him and he had always counted on them. _Trust_ , that was the word. _Trust_ , for Akaashi, was what built and raised a team. He had never been able to shake off the feeling that he had been a regular in the starting lineup of his middle school team because of that trust.

And that, sadly, was what Fukurodani lacked. Bokuto’s pace was impossible for anyone on the team to follow, and his frequent mood swings made him unpopular among his teammates, who considered him crazy, and ultimately slacked off practice when Bokuto was there, or put him aside when they had to practice, eventually leaving him alone to practice for himself as they couldn’t bear his high energy self.

The newcomer started to notice it a few days later, when their own senpais had asked Akaashi how he could keep up with Bokuto’s antics, and that they could make up an excuse for his absence if he didn’t feel like dealing with Bokuto any longer. That set off all the alarms in Akaashi’s brain.

“Don’t worry about it”, Keiji answered calmly, “it’s fun for me to practice with a star player like Bokuto-san”.

The others looked at him as if he was another lunatic, another lost cause to volleyball, but they didn’t dare to offer it again. In that moment, Akaashi made a promise to himself: if Bokuto could keep being his cheerful self around the upperclassmen who despised him only for having more talent than they did, Akaashi was going to be there to back him up. Together, they were going to rebuild Fukurodani from its ashes.

It wasn’t long before the third years retired, and left the first and second years in charge. Two years had passed since that first encounter between the two friends. Years of rebuilding trust and years of trying to get to know Bokuto, to the point of learning all of his 37 (and counting) weaknesses during a game, and how to adapt to each and every one of them with the help of all of his teammates. He was _special_ , so much different from Akaashi, that they couldn’t help but getting along very easily. The black-haired boy became his right-hand man as a vice-captain, learning also how to raise Koutarou’s spirits in his own quiet way.

Soon, Bokuto, their ace and captain of the team and the person that everyone in Fukurodani now looked up to, reached his own third year, leading them one more time to the Spring Nationals. _This year_ , they repeated to themselves, _this year we are going for the win_. It was the least thing they could do for Bokuto… for their friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5th December 2012 (Akaashi’s birthday) // 107 days until graduation or 107 days to make Akaashi shine

5th December 2012 (Akaashi’s birthday) // 107 days until graduation

* * *

“Please stay still Bokuto-san!”

Akaashi was beginning to sound desperate, which was never a good sign. His best friend was trying his best not to move, but to no avail. The dark-haired boy sighed as he unknotted Bokuto’s necktie once more, going back to the start line. Sure, this was routine for Akaashi already, but that day everything had to be perfect. After all, it was picture day for the third years.

“I’m so sorry Akaashi”, Bokuto pouted, hair tips falling down. “It just seems unreal, y’now”, he paused, “the feeling that everything I have taken for granted for the past three years is coming to an end. I guess I just hate preparing for stuff in advance, especially when we still have so many things to do as a team.”

Well, he was indeed right about that. The school year had barely started a few months ago and they were already making preparations for the third year’s graduation… time did fly by. But, just like Bokuto had stated, they still had to go to Nationals in January and give their all as a team, so it was still far from over for them. But what were three mere months in comparison to three years? And how much would they remember about it another three years later? Akaashi’s hands stopped mid-knot. How many small moments like this did they have before… He shook his head. Yes, Akaashi could understand what his friend was talking about, and that it would make Bokuto calmer to let it all out.

“Just talk to me about it if it worries you, Bokuto-san. You know you can.” Hopefully, this would buy him the seconds he needed to get rid of the winkles of the suit Bokuto was wearing. Quick and efficient, he finished in no time.

“Now, have you brought what I told you to?”, Akaashi asked, interrupting the background sound that was Bokuto’s monologue.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure! Just lemme look for it!”, the captain said as he reached out for his bag, rummaging through his stuff. “Ta-da!!” Bokuto’s voice boomed, as he revealed a small sized pouch and tossed it to Akaashi, who caught it in midair. “Not bad, kid, you’d make a fine ace too!”

“Nah, I prefer to guide them with tosses.”

“Please keep that sense of humor alive, thank you!”

“Okay, let me see what we can work with”, Akaashi said, opening the small makeup bag. Bokuto’s sister had really done it this time. Inside it there was everything Akaashi needed and more. “Oh!”, it was all he could say. He knew one of Bokuto’s sisters was a make-up artist, but the content consisted in its entirety of top-quality products and, well, very expensive ones.

“She told me that you could keep it!”

“I… can’t, this must have cost her a fortune.”

“Well, both of my sisters paid for it. They said it was for your birthday.”

“Please thank them in that case.”

“Sure”, Bokuto smiled as he hopped to sit on top of one of the bathroom sinks, leaning his head back, his hair touching the mirror behind him. “Why do you like make-up so much, anyway?”

“Watching make-up videos help me relax, and I picked up a few things here and there. I’m sorry for having to practice with you, though.”

“Nah, don’t worry, it’s chill.” Bokuto smiled. “Fun fact, my sisters also told me that they used me for make-up tryouts too when I was little. They showed me pictures and all. Apparently, I relaxed and fell asleep. It was the only thing that they could find that made me stop moving for a second.” He focused his amber eyes on Akaashi. “So don’t freak out if it happens, okay?”

“Sure, just let me see those pictures sometime.”

“Well, then, let’s go! Break time is almost over and picture time is right after. Sorry for making you waste your free time.”

“It’s okay.”

Bokuto leaned his head back against the mirror again, closing his eyes. “Is it all right like this?”

Sunlight bathed the boy’s face. He looked _calm_ , which was definitely a weird thing to associate with Bokuto. As it always happens with rare things and paranormal phenomena, you just have to stop and stare. And that’s what Akaashi did, completely oblivious that Bokuto had indeed said something.

“I don’t feel any make-up brush, Akaashi.”

The dark-haired boy blinked, returning to reality.

“I was just deciding on the colors.”

“Don’t make it too discreet, please.”

 _Of course_ , Akaashi thought, _there is no way I’d put Bokuto and discreet in the same sentence_.

Akaashi selected one of his brushes and began gently rubbing Bokuto’s cheeks. The mere contact with the brush made the boy sneeze, which caused Akaashi to let out a soft laugh. Weird phenomena, as they say, come in pairs, and this was no exception. The dark-haired boy paused, waiting for a reaction, but Bokuto was already asleep.

* * *

“Bokuto-san, wake up. It’s time.”

The boy blinked a few times, adjusting to the sunlight that came from the windows. “Oh, wow!! That was fast!! How do I look??”

“Bokuto-san, you have been resting your head on a mirror this entire time. Just turn around.”

“Oh, right, right!”

The choice of make-up could have been described as… _formal_. The slight peach blush, the soft shiny lip-gloss… But, _the eyes_ … those were exquisite. When Bokuto narrowed his vision, he could see that there was indigo on his top eyelid, which morphed into fuchsia by the time the make-up reached his eyebrow. On top of it, little golden stars had been added with precision and care, making Bokuto’s eyes shine when he blinked.

“AKAASHIIIII! THIS IS AMAZING! YOU ARE AMAZING!!”

The boy could feel his face getting hotter by the minute.

“Shh, not so loud! Someone’s going to come!”

“Oh, but we already are here.”

Akaashi stopped on his tracks, slowly turning his head.

“Oh yeah! I forgot I had invited the rest of the team too! Your make-up skills are so amazing that I couldn’t resist!”

Sure enough, the rest of Fukurodani was there.

“Happy birthday!”

“Should we line up, Akaashi-kun? There isn’t that much time left.”

“Well, maybe if only _someone_ hadn’t forgotten that we were going to come and if only _someone_ hadn’t kidnapped Akaashi-kun… And, anyways, we don’t want that eye thingy. I bet that took too much time.”

Bokuto’s face was curious. “Why not?”

Konoha sighed. “Because that way you can stand out more, dumbass.”

“Oh, I get it!! Thanks guys!”

Akaashi’s expression relaxed. Bokuto’s eyes had sure taken a few minutes, and if the rest of the team wanted something simpler… “Yeah, I can do yours in no time.” He turned to Bokuto. “And you should get going.”

“Thanks ‘kaashi.”

“Oh, and about what you were worried about earlier.”

“Yes?”

“’The world won’t stop turning just because you stop running’. So please, Bokuto-san, don’t ever stop moving forward.”

Said boy’s face shone. “THAT WAS AMAZING!!”

“Well, I learned from the best.”

An open mouthed Bokuto raised his hand to point at his chest, a question without words. His friend nodded, a smile on his face.

“Wohoooo!! I _AM_ the best. HEY, HEY, HEYYYYYY!” The owl boy screeched, going out of the bathroom, hands up in the air.

The eyes of the rest of the team followed his figure until it was lost in the distance.

“You shouldn’t have done that. Now he is going to spend the next two months being even more full of himself. You should stop babying him so much.”

“And wow, Akaashi-kun, you smiled! Cool of you to remind us that you are indeed not a robot!”

“Oh, talking about preparations for the graduation, you remember how the whole thing goes, right?”

Bokuto had indeed told Akaashi about the graduation ceremony, and Akaashi could definitely recall the buttoned black blazers and the flowers pending of the newly grads’ chest pockets. However, it was tradition at Fukurodany Academy that the third years could invite someone younger and, since the majority of the team was going to graduate, the first years (and the only second year) were guaranteed an invitation.

“Well, then, Konoha here has been asked by the principal to select the music for the party after the ceremony, and he actually had a great idea!” Washio grinned.

“I wanted to give the news, Washio! But yes, they entrusted the endeavor to me!”

“Wow, you really _are_ a ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’.”

“Oh, shut it!”

“Please, can we just get to the point so Akaashi-kun can do our makeover…”

Konoha raised his hand. “Sure, sure. Well, apart from each third year selecting a song, I thought it would be cool that the young ones picked a song for the sempai that invited them as a thank you. Something that sums up their relationship with the person they got the invitation from, y’know?”

“Yeah, something _especial_. We’re sure that you will find the perfect one for Bokuto in no time! And please tell the first years not to embarrass the rest of us that are not so lucky to have you as our invitee.”

Well, _that_ added a new layer of pressure. Akaashi found himself unconsciously grabbing the edge of the sink far more intently than minutes before, but his face just remained blank, vacant from any expression.

“Everything alright Akaashi-kun? I hope it’s not too much pressure.”

“Oh no, it’s okay! I was just remembering something that Bokuto said before, about stressing out because of preparing in advance.”

“Only Bokuto would be stressed out for preparing things in advance. I mean… that is precisely what preparing things in advance is for! To not stress out right?” Konoha stated.

Akaashi was going to speak up, but another voice interrupted him.

“No, Konoha, I think I know what Akaashi is talking about.” Komi said. “It’s as if everything was already over, which it clearly isn’t with the number of games we have to play still, and that totally makes it more frustrating. It’s like… ending something that hasn’t even started for us, right?”

Akaashi nodded.

Konoha sighed. “I feel like I understand Bokuto less and less each day. But, yeah, Komi here has a point. Let’s make the most out of every game, okay boys?”

“Yeah!”

And, right then, the bell that signaled the end of the break rang.

“Oh, shit…”

“This was going to be fun!”

“Everyone, calm down.” Akaashi stated. “I can still do it on time. Okay, who goes first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Thanks for reading this far! I'd love to know your thoughts and the things that I can improve, so please comment down below, it really means a lot to me, thank you!!


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